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Each year every household in the Bolsover District will receive a Household Enquiry form, which is also known as the annual canvass. The information we gather from this enables us to produce the new electoral register and ensures that everyone who should be entitled to vote can do so.

If you are not included on the electoral roll you will not be able to vote so it is important that you provide us with up to date information on the occupants of your address. You can't vote until you reach the age of 18 but any 16 or 17 year olds in your household should be included on the form. You should not include any children under the age of 16.

All of the major credit reference agencies use the electoral roll to verify your details when you apply for a mortgage, loan or other credit agreement. If you are not on the electoral roll you are likely to have problems in obtaining any form of credit.

We will be sending Household Enquiry Forms at the beginning of August 2017 to every household in the district. When you receive your Household Enquiry Form, please check this carefully to ensure it is correct and advise us of any changes that need to be made. The form will include details of how you can do this. Please respond without delay as this will mean we need to send out fewer reminders and helps us to keep costs down. Reminder forms will be sent mid September 2017 to households where no response has been received.

The revised Register of Electors will be published on 1 December 2017.

Periodically, vacancies arise on Parish Councils. Vacancies arise when Councillors cease to be qualified or become disqualified, do not accept their office after they have been elected, do not attend meetings, resign or pass away.

When a vacancy arises, you will see a Notice of Vacancy in the Parish and published at www.Bolsover.gov.uk advertising the vacancy.

Some Parishes are warded, which means that they are split into areas that are represented by specific Councillors. Sometimes, therefore, the Notice of Vacancy will specify the Parish ward that the vacancy is in.

When a vacancy arises, electors from within the Parish or relevant Parish ward, where the Parish is warded, may call for an election by writing to the Returning Officer at Bolsover District Council. The Notice of Vacancy will list the Parish (and Parish ward, if relevant) and the date by which electors must contact the Returning Officer to request an election.

Where an election isn’t called, the Parish Council may choose someone to fill the vacancy without an election (co-option).”

The next elections to take place in Bolsover district are the Derbyshire County Council Elections which will take place on Thursday 4 May 2017. In Bolsover area, there are 6 electoral divisions represented by six county councillors:

Bolsover District residents who are already registered to vote willl automatically be sent poll cards to vote in the General Election.

You only need to register if you have moved house or have not previously registered to vote at the address where you live, and the quickest and easiest way to do this is online, where you will need to provide details including your date of birth and National Insurance Number.

The deadline to register for the General Election on 8 June is midnight on 22 May.

The deadline for receiving new postal vote and postal proxy applications, and for changes to existing postal or proxy votes is 5pm on Tuesday 23 May.

The deadline for receiving new applications to vote by proxy (not postal proxy or emergency proxies) is 5pm om Wednesday 31 May.

The earliest date that electors can apply for a replacement for lost postal votes is Friday 2 June.

The last time for re-issue of spoilt or lost postal votes is 5pm on Thursday 8 June.

The deadline for emergency proxy applications is 5pm on Thursday 8 June.

If you require any further information, please ring the Electoral Services team on 01246 242435.

Prior to any election, prospective candidates must meet certain criteria before they are allowed to stand as a candidate.

Local election candidates

To qualify as a candidate for local elections you must:

Be a British or Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a citizen of the European Union.

Be 18 years of age or more on the date of nomination

Not be disqualified from holding office

Candidates also have to meet one or more of the following criteria:

They must be included on the electoral register and be a local government elector for the area on the date of nominations and thereafter.

They must have occupied, as owner or tenant, any land or other premises in the area during the twelve months prior to nominations.

Their principal or only place of work must have been in the area for the previous twelve months.

They must have resided in the area for the whole of the previous twelve months.

For parish elections, they must have resided in the area, or within three miles of the area for the whole of the previous twelve months.

A candidate for all local elections must complete a nomination paper in order to stand for election. The nomination paper has to be signed by the requisite number of electors who live within the electoral ward, parish or division and must be returned by the statutory deadline together with the candidate’s consent to nomination.

Although most candidates are nominated through a political party, individuals can stand for election in their own right. Candidates must submit a return of expenses detailing expenditure on items such as advertising, transport and attending public meetings.

Parliamentary and European Parliamentary candidates

To qualify as a candidate for UK Parliamentary elections you must:

Be a British or Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

Be 18 years of age or more on the date of nomination

Not be disqualified from holding office

A candidate for a UK Parliamentary election must complete a nomination paper in order to stand for election. The nomination paper has to be signed by ten electors of the constituency.

Candidates also have to submit a deposit of £500 which will be refunded only if the candidate receives more than 5% of the total votes cast in the election.

The same qualifications apply for European Parliamentary elections as for a UK Parliamentary election with the addition that the candidate has to be a citizen of a country within the European Union.

There is no requirement for a nomination paper to be submitted for these elections but a £5000 deposit is required which is refunded only if the candidate receives more than 2.5% of the total votes cast for the electoral region.

Voting in European Parliamentary elections is based on proportional representation. For all other elections it is a first past the post system. A person becomes a candidate at an election on the day on which they submit a valid nomination paper / their paper is declared valid. If a person makes it known in advance of the election that they are going to be a candidate, they will become a candidate on the last day for publication of the notice of election.

In order to vote in UK elections and referendums, you need to apply to have your name included on the electoral register. This is known as registering to vote. It is a legal requirement to supply the required information. You can register to vote online by clicking on the 'do it online' button on this page and clicking the register to vote icon.

If you are not registered you will not be able to vote at any election. You are not automatically registered even if you pay Council Tax. You can register to vote if you are 16 years old or over, and a British, Irish, Commonwealth or European Union citizen. If you are 16 or 17, you can register now but you are not allowed to vote until you are 18. The simplest way to register is by going online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. It only takes a few minutes to register but you will need to have your National Insurance number to hand as you won't be able to complete your application without it.

Elections in 2016

The next scheduled elections will be displayed here.

Postal Vote

Anyone included in the Register of Electors may apply for a postal vote (47kb). If you know that you will not be able to vote in person, you should apply for a postal vote as soon as an election is announced or as soon as you become aware that you will be out of the country on polling day. Postal votes can be sent to an address outside the UK - for example if you are going on holiday - but please remember that it will take time to get there and for you to return it in time for the vote to be counted.

Postal ballot papers are normally sent out a week or two before polling day (depending on when you send in your postal voting application), so if you will not be at home around that time you should consider appointing a proxy to vote on your behalf.

Proxy Vote

You may still be able to vote even if you are unable to get to your polling station on election day by applying for a proxy vote (17kb). (A proxy is someone who votes on your behalf). For example:

If you will be away on holiday (in the UK or abroad)

If your work takes you away from home

If you are ill or in hospital

If you want to appoint a proxy to vote for you, he or she must be:

Willing to vote on your behalf

A registered elector

A British citizen or citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, or for local government and European Parliamentary elections, a citizen of the European Union

Old enough to vote and legally allowed to vote.

Armed Forces Personnel

If you are a member of the Armed Forces and are registered as an elector, you will be entitled to vote in Parliamentary, Local and European Elections in the UK.

Service personnel and their spouses resident in the UK may register in either of two ways. They may be included as an ordinary elector by completing an individual registration application, or they may register as service voters.

In order to register as a service voter you will need to complete a service declaration (47kb) every 5 years, which will be the best option if you are likely to be posted overseas. If you are likely to be posted overseas, it is advisable to apply to vote by post or by proxy.

Overseas Voters

If you are a British National living overseas you are entitled to vote in UK General Elections and European Parliamentary Elections for up to 15 years after you were last registered in the UK. Overseas electors cannot vote at local government elections. If you are in the armed forces or or crown personnel (59kb) this does not apply to you.

In order to register as an overseas voter you will need to contact the electoral registration office at the local council covering the address for where you were last registered within the UK. If the last UK address you were registered at was in the Bolsover District you can register with us or contact us at Electoral Services, Bolsover District Council, The Arc, High Street, Clowne. S43 4JY.

If you have never been registered as an elector in the UK, you will not be eligible to register as an overseas voter. However, if you left the UK before you were 18 years of age you can register at your parents or guardians' address, provided that they were registered and that you left the UK no more than 15 years ago.

Overseas electors should also apply to vote by post or proxy. Postal votes are sent out approximately one to two weeks before polling day (depending on when you made your application), so if you are not likely to be able to receive and return a postal vote in that time, you should consider appointing a proxy.

Students

Students who are away at university or college can remain registered at their family home and may also register at their student accommodation. It is however an offence to vote twice in the same election. Students may also wish to consider the option of a postal vote.

Many of the major credit firms check your address against the electoral register and you may be refused a loan, mobile phone agreement, mortgage, bank account, etc, if you are not registered. It is also your chance to have your say about how your local council or the government is run.

Electoral Register

The Electoral Register contains the names and addresses of all those who have registered to vote within the Bolsover District.

Every August/September, a Household enquiry Form is sent to each household in the district requesting the names of those residing in the house who are eligible to vote. Information on how to complete the Household Enquiry Form is included on the form.

Reminders are issued to households who have not responded and the revised Electoral Register is usually published on 1st December each year.

Two versions are prepared:

The Full Register lists everybody who is eligible to vote, a copy is available at The Arc, High Street, Clowne, S43 4JY for public inspection in accordance with legal requirements. Inspection of the register is strictly under supervision and only written notes can be taken. You will not be permitted to photocopy or take images of any part of the register. It is not permissible for an electronic search to be carried out.

The open version leaves out names and addresses of people who have made a request to be excluded from this version of the register. The open version can be bought by anyone for any purpose.

If you move house after the register is published on 1st December, you can apply to be registered in respect of your new address under the Rolling Registration procedures which takes approximately four to six weeks to take effect. You can register online at your new address at www.gov.uk/registertovote or alternatively contact us for a printed form. Once an election has been called and you find out that you are not currently registered you can apply to register up to 12 days before the election.

Notice of Conclusion of Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places

Representation of the People Act 1983

Bolsover District Council has completed a review of polling districts and polling places in accordance with the Representation of the People Act 1983. The review was undertaken following a review of the Council’s electoral arrangements by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The new electoral arrangements will come into force at the local elections in 2019.

The Council has taken into account public comments, observations and representations in reaching its decisions, and has now published revised details of its designated Polling Districts and Polling Places.

The changes to the polling districts and polling places will be incorporated in the revised electoral register to be published on 1st December 2018.

The following documentation in relation to the review is available to view online at www.bolsover.gov.uk. Hard copies of the documents are available for inspection at The Arc, High Street, Clowne, Derbyshire, S43 4JY.

The minutes of meeting of the Council held on 12th September 2018 which considered the draft recommendations

The report and appendices considered by the Council at its meeting held on 12th September 2018 which sets out the reasons for choosing each particular polling place and polling district including responses to public consultation

Correspondence sent to any person or consultee to whom the authority contacted because they had particular expertise in relation to access to premises or facilities for disabled people.Letter to consultees

Following the conclusion of the Local Authority’s review certain persons have a right to make representations to the Electoral Commission. If, on receipt of the representations, the Commission find that the review did not:

meet the reasonable requirements of the electors in the constituency or a body of them; or

take sufficient account of the accessibility for disabled persons of a polling station/polling stations with a designated polling place then the Commission may direct the Council to make any alterations to the polling places as they think necessary and if the alterations are not made within two months, make the alterations themselves.

Any representations must be in writing, either by post, e-mail or fax to: